Evening Notes: Draisaitl, Dach, Nugent-Hopkins
A potentially major storyline has emerged tonight as Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl left tonight against Nashville, noted by Ryan Rishaug of TSN. The team has still yet to confirm his status, but he did not return to start the second or third period.
Early in the game Draisaitl was hit into the Predators’ bench. He stayed on his feet, but it caused a hard impact in the vulnerable lower back area. It was a routine check which Calgary native Ozzy Wiesblatt is expected to finish in his fourth line role, but naturally it was met with retaliation from Edmonton.
The 30-year-old returned momentarily, but didn’t seem right, and did not come back again, likely ending his night after just 3:12. Even in the limited time, Draisaitl buried a power play tally. It’s the norm against the Predators, as he has an unbelievable 29 goals in 31 career games against the club in gold.
Post game updates on the superstar will be watched urgently. With 96 points in 64 games, it hardly requires much analysis to speak on Draisaitl’s importance to Edmonton. In a season where things haven’t come easily for the group, he and Connor McDavid are forced to drive even more offense than normal to overcome their 231 goals surrendered; third worse in the league.
Edmonton is back in action Tuesday hosting San Jose. The team is third in the Pacific, likely to make the playoffs but still not where the back-to-back runners up would like to be by mid-March. If Draisaitl has to miss any time, their odds may swing dramatically.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Montreal Canadiens shared mid-game that Kirby Dach would not return due to an upper-body injury. Dach absorbed a hard hit from Anaheim grinder Jeffrey Viel with an impact concentrated in the shoulder area. The 25-year-old has had to deal with various injuries throughout his Habs tenure, as he underwent knee surgery last year, along with a fractured foot last November. Dach has only managed 31 games in 2025-26, where he’s put up 14 points. A former third overall pick, he’s is still chasing his 2022-23 Canadiens debut, breaking out with 38 points in 58 games. Unfortunately it’s starting to look like Dach won’t flourish as a top six center for the storied franchise, but based on all the health issues, it’s hard to be critical. As long as Dach has avoided another serious injury, he will likely return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20 as a Blackhawks rookie.
- Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has returned tonight against Nashville, per the team. The 32-year-old missed last game against St. Louis due to personal reasons, the team falling in overtime without their longest tenured player. Nugent-Hopkins has missed 10 games this year, otherwise posting 50 points in 57 games, a nice improvement from last year’s 49 in total. He has been durable over the past several seasons, as 2025-26 will mark the first time he’s played in under 78 regular season games since 2021-22. Nugent-Hopkins is back on the third line, flanking center Jason Dickinson as Edmonton works to balance their attack.
Pacific Notes: Ingram, Jarry, Chernyshov, Nugent-Hopkins
The Edmonton Oilers have a new starting goalie. According to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, the Oilers have named Connor Ingram the team’s starter moving forward, replacing Tristan Jarry for the foreseeable future.
It’s an unsurprising development for Jarry. Despite a strong start to the season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jarry has been downright awful in Edmonton, particularly since returning from injury in mid-January. Upon his return from injury, Jarry has managed a 4-7-1 record in 12 games with an .846 SV%.
Meanwhile, Ingram, while not producing earth-shattering numbers, is the Oilers’ best option to turn to. Over 20 games this season, the 28-year-old veteran has collected a 9-6-2 record with a .891 SV% and 2.79 GAA. Still, especially as Edmonton approaches the playoffs, they’ll need to find a plan for Jarry to regain his confidence unless Ingram takes his game to another level.
Additional notes from the Pacific Division:
- The San Jose Sharks have yet to confirm any serious injury for young prospect Igor Chernyshov. In yesterday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, Chernyshov suffered a head injury, which caused him to bleed and stumble in his attempts to get up. He was immediately taken to a hospital, and it was believed he had suffered a concussion at the very least. However, according to Sheng Peng of SJ Hockey Now, Chernyshov was completely fine at the hospital and was cleared of any serious injury.
- Back in Edmonton, Rishaug also confirmed that center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been designated a game-time decision ahead of tonight’s contest. Nugent-Hopkins didn’t play in Edmonton’s most recent game against the St. Louis Blues on Friday due to personal reasons. At the very least, it’s a positive sign that he hasn’t been ruled out entirely against the Nashville Predators.
Edmonton Oilers Activate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
The Edmonton Oilers are getting some much-needed reinforcements. The Oilers announced they have activated forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins from their injured reserve. Having 22 players on the active roster beforehand, Edmonton didn’t need to make a corresponding roster move.
Despite missing the last three weeks with an undisclosed injury, Nugent-Hopkins remains the fourth-highest-scoring forward on the Oilers’ roster. It highlights the Oilers’ challenges in spreading the offense around this year. At the time of writing, 44% of Edmonton’s goals this year have come from three players: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Jack Roslovic.
Still, having Nugent-Hopkins back in the mix will alleviate some of those issues. Throughout his 9-game absence, Edmonton has managed a 4-4-1 record, averaging 3.3 GF/G.
The former first-overall pick’s performance this year has been somewhat of a mixed bag. He’s returned to a point-per-game average, scoring five goals and 16 points in 16 games, averaging 18:49 of ice time. However, his defensive metrics have completely cratered.
Although not perceived as one of the best defensive forwards in the game, Nugent-Hopkins has garnered votes for the Selke Trophy in the past, and he’s averaged a quality 90.3% at even strength throughout his time with the Oilers. However, this season, he’s averaged an 85.3% in that department, which would be the worst of his career by a significant margin.
Furthermore, he appears to have lost some of his mojo in the faceoff dot. He averaged a respectable 48.2% success rate over the past two years, but has seen it crumble to 41.3% this season. That’s likely why the Oilers’ coaching staff has primarily played Nugent-Hopkins on McDavid’s wing this season, rather than have him centering his own line.
Regardless, scoring depth and subpar defensive play from Nugent-Hopkins are hardly Edmonton’s biggest concerns this season. Despite getting off to slow starts over the past few years, the Oilers have struggled to overcome their goaltending woes.
Through American Thanksgiving, the Oilers are 10-10-5, putting them sixth in the Pacific Division and 11th in the Western Conference with the third-worst goal differential in the league. Nearly all of that can be placed on the backs of netminders Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, who have produced a combined .860 SV% on the year.
Oilers Place Ryan Nugent-Hopkins On IR; Activate Mattias Janmark
The Oilers announced Monday that they’ve placed forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on injured reserve and activated Mattias Janmark in his place. The team also increased their LTIR pool by $1.3MM by shifting winger Kasperi Kapanen from standard to long-term injured reserve, putting them within reach of compliance when they activate Zach Hyman from LTIR as expected in the coming days.
Nugent-Hopkins’ injury, which head coach Kris Knoblauch said won’t keep him out longer than the week required for IR, comes as the Oilers are reeling from a 9-1 loss to the Avalanche on Saturday. The 32-year-old has been the least of Edmonton’s worries through their 6-6-4 start, though. His -11 rating and declining possession metrics through 16 games are something of a concern, but he’s third on the team in scoring with five goals and 11 assists for a point per game. He’s averaging 18:49 of ice time per game and picking up the slack left by depth names like Trent Frederic, Isaac Howard, Matthew Savoie, and David Tomasek, who have a combined nine points despite all being expected to see tryouts higher up in Edmonton’s lineup to help replace the names they lost to last offseason’s cap crunch.
It wasn’t clear when exactly Nugent-Hopkins got hurt, but it most definitely happened during that Colorado drubbing. He played a season-low 14:50 in that game, in which he was held off the scoresheet and posted a -4 rating.
Janmark, who turns 33 in December, is entering his fourth year in Edmonton after initially signing as a free agent in 2022. The 2013 third-rounder had just two goals in 80 games last year but has found a consistent home on the Oilers’ penalty kill. He and Nugent-Hopkins formed the nucleus of that group last year, at least in the forward department, on a unit that finished right around league average at 78.2%. The Oilers have gotten off to a fine start shorthanded without him, killing at an 81.8% rate for 12th in the league. With that in mind, it would be understandable if the Oilers were hesitant to give a regular role to someone with just six goals in the last two seasons, given their existing depth scoring issues.
Still, the Hyman, Kapanen, and Nugent-Hopkins injuries figure to give Janmark a chance at capturing consistent minutes again. Kapanen had two assists through his first six games before sustaining an undisclosed injury in mid-October that has him out week-to-week.
Snapshots: Nugent-Hopkins, Malkin, Marner
Edmonton Oilers centerman Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is expected to stick in the lineup for Game 6 despite missing Monday’s practice, head coach Kris Knoblauch told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic. His off-day will instead be chalked up to rest, after Nugent-Hopkins appeared in 20 minutes of action in Game 5.
Nugent-Hopkins appeared in 24 minutes of ice time and scored two points in Edmonton’s 5-4 win over Florida in Game 4. He ranks third on the Oilers’ offense in ice time (19:44) and postseason scoring (20 points in 21 games) behind only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. It’s the expected pecking order, but Nugent-Hopkins’ role has still been a crucial part of Edmonton’s postseason success. They’ll rest assured knowing he’s expected to appear in a must-win game on Tuesday.
Other notes from around the league:
- Retirement winds are beginning to blow around Pittsburgh Penguins legend Evgeni Malkin. It remains unclear exactly when the Russian forward is expecting to retire, though sources around the team say Pittsburgh is unlikely to offer him a new contract next summer, per Josh Yohe of The Athletic. Malkin will enter unrestricted free agency after the 2025-26 season after riding out a four-year, $24.4MM contract. He posted the lowest scoring pace of his career this season, with 50 points in 68 games equating to 0.74 points-per-game. That mark surpassed his previous career-low of 0.82 set last season, when he scored 27 goals and 67 points in 82 games. Those numbers are still mighty impressive, and could earn Malkin a few more years even as he slows down. He could also be a candidate to leave the NHL with a few good years left, and finish his playing career in Russia’s KHL. Mettalurg Magnitogorsk continue to hold Malkin’s KHL rights. He previously appeared in 169 games and scored 156 points with the club.
- Top free agent Mitch Marner may take his time deciding on a new landing spot when the market opens on July 1st, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman adds that Marner could have plans to establish meetings throughout multiple cities before he signs his next deal. Negotiations for Marner’s last contract – a six-year, $65.41MM deal signed in 2019 – notoriously dragged on through September. He posted multiple career-years on the deal, including breaking the century mark for the first time this season with 102 points in 81 games. Marner is likely to rival records with a lengthy and expensive deal this season. Taking time to ensure it’s with the right fit will be a helpful bit of due diligence.
Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Uncertain For Game 3
June 9: Nugent-Hopkins is still questionable for Game 3 and remains a game-time decision, although Knoblauch told reporters today he’ll take warmups regardless (according to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug).
June 8: The Oilers may be down a crucial top-six forward as the Stanley Cup Final shifts to Florida. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be a game-time decision for Monday’s Game 3 due to an undisclosed injury after missing Sunday’s practice session, head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters (including Tony Brar of Oilers TV).
Nugent-Hopkins didn’t miss a shift in Game 2’s double-overtime loss and didn’t miss a game due to a non-illness-related injury all season long. He’s routinely been starting games on the wing with Connor McDavid and Corey Perry, but he’s also alternated with Leon Draisaitl as the club’s second-line center. When shifted to Draisaitl’s spot between Evander Kane and Kasperi Kapanen later in Game 2, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal relays that Kane was taking faceoffs instead of Nugent-Hopkins, pointing to a speculative upper-body issue.
On the heels of an underwhelming regular season, Nugent-Hopkins has turned up the heat in the postseason. The 32-year-old is operating at a point per game with a 5-13–18 scoring line despite being held off the scoresheet in his last three appearances. He was especially dominant in Edmonton’s Western Conference Final victory over the Stars, posting a 2-7–9 scoring line in Games 1 through 4.
A potential Nugent-Hopkins absence with a 2-1 series lead on the line is exacerbated by the unavailability of usual Connor McDavid/RNH linemate Zach Hyman, who sustained a serious wrist injury in the Dallas series and is done for the year. While depth pieces like Kapanen and Perry have far exceeded expectations when elevated into top-six roles this postseason, there’s rightful concern about eating too deep into their depth in a seven-game series against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Jeff Skinner, a healthy scratch for all but two games in these playoffs, took line rushes in today’s practice in Nugent-Hopkins’ place alongside McDavid and Perry and will presumably enter the lineup if RNH can’t go. In his first career postseason action, the veteran of nearly 1,100 regular-season games has a goal and an assist over his pair of appearances.
Latest On Edmonton Oilers Injuries
Teams around the NHL received long lists of injury updates headed into the weekend. None were more important than for the Edmonton Oilers, who learned that Leon Draisaitl will return before the end of the regular season, head coach Kris Knoblauch told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic before Friday’s win over San Jose. Draisaitl has missed Edmonton’s last four games with an undisclosed injury. Knoblauch also shared that goaltender Stuart Skinner will return to start two of the team’s last four games, that defenseman Mattias Ekholm is back to full health, and forward Trent Frederic might not be ready for the first game of the postseason. Nugent-Bowman also shared that defenseman Jake Walman would continue to sit out on Friday, but is expected to return in one of the team’s back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday.
Both Ekholm and Skinner rejoined the lineup on Friday night after missing Edmonton’s last seven games. Ekholm’s injury wasn’t disclosed but Skinner had sustained a head injury on a collision with Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen in late March. Skinner served as the backup in his return, but Ekholm wasn’t as lucky. He stumbled a few times in his first few shifts and eventually left the game after just two minutes of total ice time. Winger Zach Hyman also left the game early, after just seven minutes of ice time. It wasn’t entirely clear where either Oilers skater was hurt. Knoblauch told Nugent-Bowman after the game that both Ekholm and Hyman will be questionable for game one of the playoffs.
No injury updates were provided about center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has missed the last two games with illness, or defenseman John Klingberg, who has missed the last seven games with a lower-body injury. Knoblauch did add that forward Evander Kane, who hasn’t played this season due to multiple surgeries, still does not have a clear timeline.
The wave of injury updates come at the right time for the Oilers. They have three games remaining in their season and a cushy role as the third-ranked Pacific Division squad all-but-locked up. The Oilers appear to be headed for a feud with the Los Angeles Kings in round one, and will need their offensive firepower to get over the defense that’s allowed the second-fewest goals in the Western Conference.
Draisaitl’s addition will go a long way towards achieving that goal. He’s among the top favorites for the Hart Trophy this season, after amassing 52 goals and 106 points in just 71 games. His scoring average puts him on pace for 122 points in 82 games – just shy of the career-high 128 points he recorded in the 2022-23 season. Draisaitl has performed at a superstar level once again this season, and getting a chance to return before the postseason kicks off should help him get back up to star speed before Edmonton’s must-win games.
Draisaitl will help pull the Oilers offense forward while Walman looks to assume a major role on defense. Ekholm leaves a top-pair role and over 22 minutes of ice time each game up for grabs, and Walman will be the primary beneficiary when he’s ready to return. The Trade Deadline acquisition has posted a fantastic eight points, six penalty minutes, and plus-five in 15 games with the Oilers, while averaging more than 21 minutes a game. He’s become an adequate support for top left-defender Darnell Nurse, and together the two will look to split Edmonton’s top role on the left-side. Ekholm will join the duo when he’s back to full health, giving the Oilers one of their deepest blue-lines headed into the postseason in recent memory.
That boost will help make up for blows to Edmonton’s complimentary cast. Hyman has continued to stand as a top scorer on the lineup with 27 goals – second-most on the team – and 44 points in 73 games this season. He’s once again dominating the net-front, a role that Edmonton has struggled to fill in his absence. That role could be managed by Trade Deadline buy Trent Frederic, though he’s only been healthy for one game since Edmonton sent a second-round and fourth-round draft pick to Boston for the centerman. His return will likely line up closely with Hyman’s, effectively defaulting Frederic to a role in Edmonton’s bottom-six – where he’ll look to carve out a role on the back of his size, 15 points in 58 games, and underperforming 10.3 shooting percentage this season.
Edmonton’s skaters will collectively look to bolster the product in front of starting goaltender Stuart Skinner, who has again struggled with consistency this season. Skinner has two shutouts on the year, but a .894 save percentage and 24-18-4 record through 48 starts. He’s been ever-so-slightly outperformed by backup Calvin Pickard in his absence, though Pickard’s 22-9-1 record and .902 save percentage don’t jump off the page either. Goaltending has been Edmonton’s achilles heel in past postseasons, and how Skinner is able to return from injury could go a long way towards shaping their playoff hopes. The Oilers will be looking to run all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in due time, after they lost in game seven of the Finals to the Florida Panthers last season.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.
Oilers Expecting Healthy Lineup For Playoffs
A laundry list of injuries has pulled the end of the Edmonton Oilers season into disarray. The bunch of inactive Oilers is led by superstars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, who has missed the team’s last two and eight games respectively. They’re joined by a seemingly endless list of impactful Oilers on the sideline – including starting goaltender Stuart Skinner (six missed games), top-four defensemen John Klingberg (five games) and Mattias Ekholm (six games), and freshly-injured top-six centerman Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. On top of that, Edmonton has only received one game out of Trade Deadline acquisition Trent Frederic, and continues to grapple with uncertainty around Evander Kane.
But with so much to bear through, Edmonton isn’t expecting the injuries to carry into the postseason. Head coach Kris Knoblauch shared in a Wednesday press conference that he expects to get “everybody” back from injury before the end of the season. He further specified that McDavid and Draisaitl will remain out on a day-to-day basis, up to a week. That timeframe puts the pair of superstars on track to return just ahead of Edmonton’s final games of the regular season, which take place on Monday April 14th and Wednesday April 16th.
The Oilers haven’t technically clinched a playoff spot just yet – but with a six-point advantage over the rest of the Pacific Division, a locked-in spot is a matter of when not if. That will make their half-strength run through the end of the season a bit easier to withstand, though the Oilers will still be icing an unprecedented lineup on Wednesday night. They’ll be without eight routine NHL players including Kane. That equates to $42.2MM in cap space that will be left on the shelf, as shared by Jason Gregor of Sports 1440.
The decimated Oilers will move forward with rookies Noah Philp and Olivier Rodrigue respectively filling the role of fourth-line center and backup goaltender. Second-year defenseman Ty Emberson will also stick in the Oilers lineup with this news, giving him a chance to continue the search for his first goal of the season. Emberson has 10 assists in 71 games this season, while Philp has recorded two assists in the first 12 games of his NHL career this year. Rodrigue has also played in the first two games of his NHL career this season, and has 25 saves on 29 shots (0.862 save percentage) and a 0-1-0 record.
Together, the trio of young additions will look to push Edmonton past a hard-nosed St. Louis Blues team, fresh off the end of a 12-game win-streak, on Wednesday night. They’ll be rewarded with a lighter game against the San Jose Sharks on Friday, but then close the year with matchups against the top-ranked Winnipeg Jets, playoff competition Los Angeles Kings, and another match against San Jose.
Snapshots: Tarasov, Dumba, Vanecek, Miller, Nugent-Hopkins
It has been a tough year for Blue Jackets goaltender Daniil Tarasov. The 25-year-old has played to a 4.26 GAA and a .857 SV% in his nine starts and has only played once in the last month while AHL starter Jet Greaves has seen time with Columbus since then. However, GM Don Waddell told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that he has no plans to put the netminder on waivers, feeling that Tarasov has too much talent to go through unclaimed. Tarasov had some success just last season when he had a 3.18 GAA and a .908 SV% in 24 games so they’ll continue to work with him in practice for the time being. It’s a contract year for Tarasov who will be owed a $1.26MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights this summer so he’ll need to turn things around soon or risk being a non-tender candidate in June.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- While Stars defenseman Mathew Dumba returned to practice today with a full cage, he will not suit up on Monday against Utah, relays Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports (Twitter link). He has missed the last two weeks with an upper-body injury. It has been a tough first year in Dallas for Dumba as he has been limited to just one assist in 19 games so far this season which is not the type of production the team was expecting when they signed him to a two-year, $7.5MM contract this summer.
- Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (subscription link) that they expect to have more information on the path forward for goaltender Vitek Vanecek in the next day or two. The netminder was hit by a puck on the bench on Tuesday and was listed as week-to-week. He has since seen a specialist so further clarity on how much longer he’ll be out should be coming soon. Vanecek, a pending unrestricted free agent, has a 3.84 GAA and a .885 SV% in 14 appearances this season.
- Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller missed today’s game and remains listed as day-to-day, mentions NHL.com’s Dan Rosen (Twitter link). New York was hoping that he’d be able to return from his upper-body injury but evidently, he wasn’t quite ready to do so. The Rangers are in action on Monday against New Jersey so it’s possible that he returns then or they could opt to give him a few more days of rest over the break. Miller has just six points in 30 games so far while sitting second in ice time among blueliners at over 21 minutes a night.
- Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was scratched tonight due to illness, notes Bob Stauffer of 880 CHED (Twitter link). The veteran had played in all 33 games before this one but is having a quiet year offensively, tallying six goals and a dozen assists. For comparison, Nugent-Hopkins had 18 goals and 49 helpers in 80 games just last season.
Snapshots: Bobrovsky, Ekblad, Nugent-Hopkins, Smith
Florida Panthers fans are breathing a big sigh of relief this morning, with both star defender Aaron Ekblad and Vezina-finalist goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky good to go after missing the team’s Sunday morning practice, per Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). Neither player were limited in the team’s Game 6 loss – with Bobrovsky facing 19 shots and Ekblad playing 21:37 in ice time – suggesting that their absences were merely for maintenance. Still, every update matters as the Panthers look to skid three straight losses in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Edmonton Oilers have outscored Florida 18-t0-5 over that stretch, with Bobrovsky posting a collective 0.793 save percentage. The Panthers will now return home for a winner-takes-all Game 7, seemingly still at full strength.
Other quick notes from around the league:
- In the name of fairness, the Oilers are facing an injury scare of their own, with former-100 point forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missing the team’s Sunday practice with illness, per Jim Matheson of NHL.com (Twitter link). Nugent-Hopkins has been one of Edmonton’s top contributors this postseason, recording 22 points in 24 playoff games. That includes two points in Edmonton’s three-game win-streak – so far his only scoring in the Stanley Cup Finals. Nugent-Hopkins would leave a major role vacant should he be unavailable for Game 7, though there’s been no indication that Edmonton is expecting him to sit.
- Pittsburgh Penguins winger Reilly Smith has changed agencies ahead of the final year of his contract, now represented by CAA Hockey, per PuckPedia (Twitter link). CAA is the choice agency of many NHL stars, including Sidney Crosby, Matthew Beniers, Mathew Barzal, and Cole Caufield. It’s also the agency most akin to changing scenery – representing the recently-traded Pierre-Luc Dubois, rumored trade chip Rutger McGroarty, and hardened trade rumor veteran Jack Eichel. Smith takes on the new representation while looking to vindicate his final year at a $5MM price tag, though his 13 goals and 40 points last season fell short of expecations.